Did you see the Justin Timberlake thriller In Time last year? Probably not. Nobody else did either. Well, I did, I guess. And while the movie wasn't very good, it contained an interesting idea that I think relates to personal finance.

The movie's plot revolves around a world where everyone is genetically engineered to live until they're 25. After that, they have exactly one year left before they die. The amount of time they have left to live is displayed on their forearm and because of how limited of a resource it is, people use time as the method to barter and exchange things with each other. Time becomes a currency. Want a cheeseburger? That's twenty minutes. Bus fare? Two hours. You get the picture.

If you can get past some overly-cheesy acting moments from Justin Timberlake, the movie makes an interesting point about the importance of valuing your time. While it's easy to waste five minutes here and there in your day-to-day life without realizing it, in the movie people are acutely aware of just how much time they have left. It's marked on their forearm after all, and they weigh all of their decisions on whether or not the trade-off is literally worth their time.

Looking for work? Somebody out there wants you to design websites, board dogs, run errands, write blot posts, do laundry, deliver packages, be a virtual assistant.

Sites like eLance, TaskRabbit, Fiverr, 99designs and 3to30.com are virtual employment offices offering gigs you can pick up and put down as needed. Sometimes you bid on jobs and sometimes you post your own ad, whether serious or offbeat. (“I will create a lacrosse trick and name it after you.”)

Whether you call this consulting, freelance or “microjobs,” more of us are headed that way, according to Kristin Cardinale. The author of The 9-to-5 Cure, Cardinale cites U.S. Department of Labor projections that “millions of short-term workers” are needed.

Shor

Over the past couple of weeks, we've been exploring the nature of work at Get Rich Slowly. What does it mean to pursue your passion? Is passion what work should be about? Or is a job just a source of income?

For me, there's no right answer.

Right now, yes, I'm pursuing my passion, and I love it. As a full-time writer working from home, I'm doing work I've always wanted to do, and I do it on my own schedule. Yet I recognize this isn't what everyone wants. Kris, for instance, loves her job and her co-workers. She finds the work fulfilling, and she likes the security of having an employer take care of things like taxes, paychecks, and health insurance.

One of my goals for GRS in 2012 is to write more about earning money.

I quit my job a year-and-a-half ago to become self-employed, but I know that most people are employees, and I'm the last person who would suggest that everyone should quit their jobs and become full-time freelancers. For one thing, it's not right for everyone. It can be lonely, and it doesn't come with medical benefits, which some people need, especially those who can't get individual insurance at a reasonable cost. Depending on your career, it might not even be possible (never heard of a self-employed police officer, for example). And some people want to put in their time and leave work at work at 5 p.m., or just plain enjoy their job.

There are a lot of reasons why it makes more sense to be an employee, which is why I don't plan to only write about starting a side business or freelancing (although I do plan to cover those topics), but also how employees can earn more at their current job and make savvy career moves.

"Office politics" is one of those phrases that used to make me groan. I worked in an office from the time I was a freshman in college until I quit my job last year, and let me tell you, I had my fill. I dealt with situations that would make our presidential candidates wince, and I tried many approaches to deal with it, such as pretending to be completely oblivious to it (a very bad idea, by the way).

But I had one boss, the best manager I've ever had, who was great at the game. She's the one who taught me how to do things like keep a brag folder and remind a senior manager 10 different ways that she still hadn't approved a proposal. In fact, she was so diplomatic and professional that one of the only "negative" things I heard about her was "she gets along with everyone." (Yes, she was being bad-mouthed for not taking sides.)

I learned many valuable lessons from this manager, and I came away with a much different understanding of office politics.

Before I became a full-time freelancer, I worked for a couple of different companies. Both times I started a new job, it started out exciting and fun. Great benefits! Cool perks! Interesting work!

After a year or two, it got harder to get up in the morning and face an eight-hour day of doing whatever it was I was hired to do. By years three to five, the shine was wearing off, and finally it was clear that I needed to quit my job. I'd tried to make proactive changes, but it was time to move on.

Winners never quit?
This move-on point is what bestselling author Seth Godin calls a cul-de-sac in his book The Dip: A Little Book that Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick). He says when you hit a cul-de-sac (French for "bottom of the bag," meaning "dead-end"), it's time to quit. This sort of advice is quite unlike the winning and failing quotes we hear so often in our society, such as:

The best time to ask for a raise is just after a stellar performance review because your boss will be anticipating it. If you've just been promoted or received new responsibilities that are typically associated with a higher-level position, it's always appropriate to broach the subject of a salary increase even in a difficult market.

But how do you ask for a raise? Here are some of my top tips:

• Before the meeting takes place, role-play it with a friend so that you can practice a tone that sounds friendly and assertive rather than bitter and entitled.
• If you can, try for an informal setting like coffee.
• Once you sit down with your manager, start positively. You might, for example, say something like: “I've gotten so much out of working here and really appreciate you mentorship and the opportunities you've given me.”
• Then, ask if she'll consider a salary increase in light of your recent performance. You might lead off with: “Now that I've been doing the work of a senior account manager for almost a year, can we consider an increase in compensation to reflect these new responsibilities?”
• As clearly and concisely as possible, go over the highlights with some concrete examples. Focus on the benefits your boss and the company receive from your contributions rather than the additional money you need or desire.

For example, you should say something like: “Because I can do the job of both an account manager and a programmer, I'm saving the company an additional salary” rather than: “I need to be making more income to pay for my wedding next year.” And don't bring co-workers into the discussion by saying: “Well, Peter Gibbons has only been working here a few months and I know he's making way more than me.”

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